Tag: Saint Louis

Sometime during the year 2013 folk singer-songwriter Todd Snider was talking with one of his good buddies Dave Schools, who also happens to play bass in a band called Widespread Panic, about his love for jam music and wanting to do something like that one day. Snider says he never expected it to come to fruition, but Schools said he was interested. Snider contacted keyboardist Chad Staehly from Great American Taxi and told him that Dave Schools was on board. By the end of 2013 they had Chris Robinson Brotherhood and former Ryan Adams and the Cardinals guitarist-extraordinaire Neal Casal lined up. Schools grabbed his friend Duane Trucks, who just so happened to be playing drums with Widespread Panic at the time conveniently enough. In no time they had assembled themselves a southern rock jam super group and decided to call themselves the Hard Working Americans. Within a year they released an album and began touring. Their self-titled debut album consists of all cover songs chosen mostly by Snide. Newest member Jesse Aycock now tours with the band as second guitarist and pedal-steel player and is set to appear on the next album.

It took them awhile to get here, but the Hard Working Americans finally made it to Saint Louis with a stop at the Old Rock House on Tuesday evening as part of what is being dubbed the High Up On It Tour. For the last week or so leading up to the show there were warnings being sent out on social media that this was going to be a sold out show. Chicago’s The Steepwater Band opened the show on this particular evening, though there are a variety of openers offered throughout the tour. As we arrived we found a very long line of folks waiting to get in and no parking in the nearby lots. So we did what we know best… went a block up the street to 4 Hands Brewing to let the line die down, park the car, and enjoy a few delicious local beers before watching some of the finest Hard Working Americans out there. I did hear many people talking about The Steepwater Band kicking some serious ass and that made me sad for missing them.

As we arrived just after 9PM the door man was informing the woman in front of me that there were only seven more tickets available and the band wasn’t supposed to start for another 30 minutes. We walked in and found that a majority of the near capacity crowd had made their way outside to enjoy one of the most beautiful patios that Downtown St. Louis has to offer, with a great view of the Gateway Arch and plenty of seating… plus you can still hear kind of even see the bands playing inside.

Hard Working Americans took the stage around 9:30 and opened the show with a song they were tackling for the first time live, a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around.” The crowd that had stepped outside to smoke between bands scurried their way back inside to pack the dance floor and balcony. The band received a smattering of applause after they finished the song and immediately went into “Mission Accomplished”, a song that Todd Snider wrote for his 2008 solo album Peace Queer. The set included many of the cover songs recorded for their 2014 self-titled debut album including a great version of “Run a Mile” that allowed Neal Casal to really let loose and shine for the first time of the night. This will be an ongoing theme throughout the evening. This was followed up by “I Don’t Have a Gun”, during which Snider addressed the crowd for the first time by saying “Thank you for giving us a chance to make music. We are hard working Americans just like yourselves. And we came a long way to tell you very, very, little.” They finished out the song after a spacey little jam and a crowd singalong of the course, repeating “I don’t wanna hurt nobody.”

One of the Hard Working Americans few original tunes, “Dope is Dope” received a great reaction from the capacity (I assume they sold seven more tickets by now…) crowd. This will also be a constant theme throughout the evening. This song features humorous lyrics about a guy getting in trouble by his mama because she finds his “har-on” but he tries to tell her that its only marijuana… she isn’t buying it though because “Dope is dope and you’re high up on it.” Magically during this song the entire room began to smell like a Peter Tosh concert.

“Welfare Music”, a song recorded for their debut album that was originally performed by Crystal City’s own The Bottle Rockets, was done very well. Todd Snider is a well-known advocate for all things Bottle Rockets, and always seems to sneak a song or mention in during his St. Louis stops. The band was really firing on all cylinders at this point and the crowd was very in tune with every note and word. Snider introduced the band after “Someday Past the Sunset”, a Chris Robinson Brotherhood song that they just began playing last week. He then again thanked the crowd for letting them play music for us. “Straight to Hell”, another cover song that appears on their album became a crowd singalong during each course and seemed to get louder each time.

All I can say now is that shit got crazy. The next like thirty minutes or so turned into a non-stop jam… songs segueing in and out of one another before going to an entirely different song and finishing with teases of what was already played… It started with “Throwing Goats”, went in and out of “Blackland Farmer” like three different times, segued into “Born to be Wild” for a few minutes, had a spacey jam that freaked the fuck out of the random guy in front of me that turned to me and said “NEAL FUCKING CASAL MAN!”, before ending with a Todd Snider fan favorite “Is This Thing Working” wrapped up inside a Will Kimbrough song “Another Train.” It was the jam band that Snider dreamed about starting… and it was working perfectly! Not surprising that this little ditty ended the set.

As per usual at the Old Rock House, the encore break was short as there really isn’t a backstage or green room easily accessible from the stage. The first song of the encore was another original, “Purple Mountain Jamboree.” Randy Newman’s “Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)” followed and let Jesse Aycock showcase his pedal-steel skill. The night ended with a raucous cover of Hayes Carll’s anthem-like “Stomp and Holler”, leaving the jam packed crowd wanting more.

If you left this show disappointed, then I don’t think you were actually at this show. This was one of the best shows I have watched in some time.

SETLISTAround and Around
Mission Accomplished
Run a Mile
I Don’t Have a Gun
Dope Is Dope
Mountain Song
Welfare Music
Someday Past the Sunset
Down to the Well
Straight to Hell
Throwing Goats>
Blackland Farmer>
Born to Be Wild>
Blackland Farmer>
Jam>
Blackland Farmer>
Guaranteed>
Another Train>
Is This Thing Working>
Another TrainE: Purple Mountain Jamboree>E: Mr. President>E: Stomp and Holler

Australian psych-rockers Tame Impala stopped by The Pageant on Monday night and somehow found a way to convey your Uncle Mark’s acid flashbacks from the 60’s and 70’s through a live music experience. When it comes to recorded music, Tame Impala is Kevin Parker. Parker writes all of the songs and creates the textured and dynamic music himself while playing every instrument and using techniques such as reverb and fuzzing to melt your mind. However, the Tame Impala live experience is a five piece powerhouse featuring drummer Julien Barbagallo, bassist Cam Avery, and multi instrumentalists Dominic Simper and Jay Watson who provide additional layers to their unique sound by way of additional guitar, bass, and synths, respectively. Parker himself sticks primarily to the guitar and vocal duty for live performances, relying heavily on down tuning and effects pedals to recreate the sound heard on recordings.

Opening act Kuroma started things off at 8PM and did a perfectly fine job as an opening act for a band as hyped as Tame Impala. They ripped through their 45 minute support slot full of indie garage rock with ferocity. Kuroma is fronted by Hank Sullivant, former front man of The Whigs. Sullivant also spent some time as a touring guitarist with MGMT, I kind of wished more of that sound had rubbed off on him, but regardless, it was a very good set. Kuroma isn’t new to the scene, they have been around on and off since 2008 and they have a few albums available. They are worth checking out for sure. There was a noticeable difference at this point between the under 21 section and the over 21 section. The all ages floor and right quarter of the venue were both packed full of kids that had lined up early in hopes of riding the rail or obtaining that sweet spot in the pit. Then there were those disappointed to end up in the raised seating just off to the side of the floor. However, even after Kuroma’s set ended, there were optimal spots available for those who were old enough to consume alcoholic beverages. Much of the crowd started to fill in after Kuroma ended their set. Sucks to be them…

During the set change from Kuroma to Tame Impala, all signs pointed towards this being an interesting show. The stagehands and techs in charge of setting up and sound checking the equipment were all dressed in white lab coats. The set up was quite simple, a large screen behind the band and a handful of lights set up all over the stage. The stacks of speakers set up at the side of the stage told everyone in the room that it was about to get loud.

Tame Impala did a great job covering their entire catalog, including a few new tracks from their soon-to-be released album, Currents, out July 19. The set also featured songs from 2010’sInnerspeaker, but focused heavily on 2012’s critically acclaimed, and commercially successful,Lonerism. Once Parker led the rest of the boys on stage, the crowd immediately erupted and welcomed the Aussie’s to St. Louis.

The set began with a little tuning free jam before segueing into the new and almost Daft Punk-ish sounding “Let It Happen”, from the yet to be released Currents. The screen behind the band was transformed into a giant spinning eyeball. The screen didn’t get any less weird throughout the next 90 minutes while we were taken on what seemed like a chemically enhanced spiritual journey into Kevin Parker’s mind.

The rest of the set featured minimal banter and excessive amounts of awesomeness. The crowd seemed to respond the most to the tracks from Lonerism, including “Elephant”, which many people recognize as the song from a Blackberry commercial. Remember when Blackberry was a thing briefly?

Highlights of the set were “Endors Toi”, “Be Above It”, which featured one of the only real opportunities for the band to stray from the course and do a little free jamming, and set closer “Apocalypse Dreams”, which is always a fan favorite. The encore featured another crowd favorite “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” before ending with “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control”, most likely Tame Impala’s longest song title.

When the lights came on and the lab coat sporting stage hands returned to start tearing down the spectacle that was, it appeared that most of the crowd was incredibly satisfied with what we had just experienced. Tame Impala are at the top of their game right now and not to be missed if you are given the opportunity to check them out. They are quickly shooting up the bills on festival lineups across the globe, and even though this show was shy of being a sellout, I would be shocked to see them playing rooms the size of The Pageant much longer.

For the sixth year in a row, beautiful Forest Park in St. Louis, MO will be turned into a small town of its own when more than 35,000 people descend on the Central Fields for the LouFest Music Festival. This year the festival is set to take place on Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13.

Previous LouFest lineups have brought the best of both major headlining acts like The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Arctic Monkeys, Cake, Outkast and The Killers to smaller up and coming acts such as Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dawes, Little Barrie and Cherub. The lineup always features an eclectic mix of everything from indie rock to R&B to bluegrass.

In previous years the folks at LouFest have used social media to provide clues about some of the bands on the lineup, but after last year’s lineup was leaked a few days prior to the scheduled release… only a few names have come out from folks endlessly scouring the internet. What we do know is that Hozier will be gracing the LouFest stage and taking you to his proverbial church. Also, Albert Hammond Jr. from The Strokes has announced his late Summer / Fall solo tour dates with a stop at LouFest on the agenda.

One has to wonder what caused LouFest organizers to take such a huge step back from previous years with this lineup. The rumors circulating around the interwebz for the past few weeks were pipedreams compared to what was actually booked. After following what promoters called the most successful LouFest to date in 2014 with a stacked lineup including OutKast, Arctic Monkeys, and Cake and even the 2013 lineup that included Wilco, Jim James, The Killers, Edward Sharpe, The National and Alabama Shakes… this seems like a far reach to exceed expectations or make this event a sell out. People are revolting over on the LouFest Facebook page and hoping there is an additional headliner they are holding back. Seeing a show Hozier was just in St. Louis earlier this year and played to a room of about 2500 people, its tough to see him as a festival headliner.

The five piece Americana string quintet put together by folk singer/songwriter David Rawlings is something really special. Rawlings has assembled an all-star cast of musicians that includes his partner in crime for the last 20 years Gillian Welch, former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson, and Punch Brothers bassist Paul Kowert. He also found this guy they call John Paul Jones that used to play bass in a little band called Led Zeppelin, and he just so happens to be really good with a mandolin and friends with Rawlings.

Independently, you have five incredibly well respected musicians in their genre that each bring their own unique aspect to the Dave Rawlings Machine. Together, you have a five piece bluegrass/Americana powerhouse that put on what can only be described as one of the best live music experiences of my entire life in front of a jam packed crowd at the Sheldon Concert Hall last Wednesday, June 25.

The show started just after 8:00PM as the band came out and the crowd erupted… half the crowd rose to their feet and began wildly applauding before the first note was played. Without introduction Rawlings picked up his 1935 Epiphone Olympic arch top guitar and began playing the John Hartford tune “Turn Your Radio On.” It has become somewhat of tradition for bands to honor Hartford around St. Louis, and it always gets the crowds attention right from the start! After the song Rawlings greeted the crowd and informed us that this was the first time he had played that one, but it seemed appropriate.

The always incredible and Grammy nominated guitarist Gillian Welch assisted throughout the night adding beautiful harmonies and even taking lead vocal duties on a few songs. Welch was also the comic relief on the mic, telling the crowd that “we broke out our best denim for tonight… it works, you know, with all the wood” referring to the fact that each band member was wearing at least one piece of denim clothing. David chimed in that the room was “very 70’s looking.” As Rawlings prepared his banjo and third guitarist Willie Watson switched to fiddle, Welch introduced the next song by telling us “if theres one thing people say about St. Louis, its that y’all love the banjo.” They went into a rousing rendition of “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)” popularized by Ryan Adams, but co-penned by Rawlings. This one really woke the crowd up.

Willie Watson switched to the banjo for the next tune… a trend that would continue through the night as he shared time between the guitar, banjo, and fiddle. Watson led us in the bluegrass traditional “Dry Bones” while attacking the banjo claw hammer style. Rawlings introduced him to the crowd and asked him to “lead us in another one… how about a dirty song.” Watson sang the first of three songs from his newly released solo album, Folk Singer Vol. 1, a fun track called “Keep It Clean.”

The highlight of the first set was a mashup of Bob Dylan’s “Dear Landlord” and the Grateful Dead’s “Candyman.” Rawlings flawlessly executed the transition about four minutes into “Dear Landlord” without skipping a beat… the transition really allowed John Paul Jones to shine for the first time all night on the mandolin. After playing pretty much all of “Candyman” they finsihed BACK into “Dear Landlord.” The crowd exploded in applause as Welch said “Only his brain would be able to come up with that mashup”

After a 30 minute set break Rawlings told us that he wanted to wait until the beer line was gone to start again, but realized that would never happen. Someone in the crowd took the opportunity to throw out a perfectly timed “If theres two things St. Louis is known for….” as the entire crowd and the band started laughing. The first song of the second set was the beautifully written “Ruby”, a song that appeared on the Dave Rawlings Machine album, A Friend of a Friend. Willie Watson then sang “Stewball”, another track from his new solo album, this one featured lyrics about a race car. Gillian Welch led a gorgeous rendition of her song “Wayside/Back in Time.” Rawlings then told us of his misfortune during the prior show where his banjo strap broke and he quickly replaced it with a shoe string he found in his case… problem was, he didn’t think to change it prior to this show so he informed us that “if the banjo hits the floor, its not part of the show” to which the capacity crowd laughed again.

After a Paul Kowert led number, the band left only Gillian and David on stage. Together they played “Sweet Tooth” before Willie came back out to join on banjo for the traditional “I Hear Them All” into “This Land Is Your Land.” The rest of the band came back out to join them for a song that Rawlings had co-wrote with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame, “Method Acting.” Rawlings actually recorded that song for the A Friend of A Friend album where he mixed it with Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer”, well that’s the incredible version we received at The Sheldon. The second set ended with another Bob Dylan song, “Queen Jane Approximately.” Another John Paul Jones intro led to yet another smattering of applause and a standing ovation as the band walked off the stage.

About a minute later they re-claimed their spots on the tiny stage for their take on the Led Zeppelin classic, “Going to California.” Rawlings introduced the entire band one last time prior to another traditional “I’ll Fly Away” with him and Welch sharing vocal duties. The encore closed with “The Weight”, originally by The Band, where verses were handled by Welch, Watson, and Kowert with the rest of the band joining in on the chorus. Again the crowd rose to their feet as the band joined hands and bowed before walking off the stage. A few people started to head for the exits while others remained in the spots, but on their feet going crazy. After about 2 minutes the band came out AGAIN for a second encore! Rawlings again thanked the crowd, and after a quick huddle the next song, “Midnight Special” was led by Willie Watson. The night ended with the five of them gathered around a single mic (above) for an acappella version of “Didn’t Leave Nobody But The Baby” before one last bow and exit as the house lights came on.

NOTE: This is only a brief clip of “Going to California” played at The Sheldon. Had to sneak this clip of JPJ playing mandolin before i was asked to stop by security. Please note that my recording in no way bothered other concert-goers as the screen was shielded.

On September 6 & 7 the LouFest Music Festival will return to the beautiful Forest Park in St. Louis for a fifth straight year. LouFest is growing yet again, with a rumored FOURTH stage now being added after a third being brought into the mix last year. It was estimated that the 2013 version brought in more than 15,000 people each day, more than double the previous year. The last five years have provided concert goers with a very eclectic mix of artists from all genres and stages of their careers. Another great aspect of LouFest is that they be sure to throw a few local talents such as Sleepy Kitty, Troubadour Dali and Tef Poe on the bill as well.

Previous artists to grace the LouFest stage have included The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Girl Talk (above), The Killers, She & Him, Jim James, TV on the Radio, The National, Trampled by Turtles, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr. and even a Jeff Tweedy solo set. The Roots were scheduled in 2011 but sadly had to cancel at the last minute. LouFest has certainly grown to become something very special for the city of Saint Louis.

Unfortunately for LouFest, their game to slowly reveal the first nine bands by slowly releasing clues had a slight flaw that led to a leak of those nine bands in just a few hours after announcing the game. So what we already found out last week is that alt-rockers Cake will be one of the top bands on the bill… which excites the hell out of me! The other eight leaked bands are Grouplove, Portugal the Man, Blackberry Smoke, San Fermin, Pretty Little Empire, Moon Taxi, Washed Out and funksters Lettuce, who I am also incredibly excited to see.

The rest of the lineup was just released… check it out below. Be sure to check back soon for a full preview of the entire lineup!

I just can’t stay away from Vintage Vinyl and, its for good reason too. The special events/instores they frequently host are just too good to pass up. On a nice, chilly Tuesday night in St. Louis, the Leverage Models from New York stopped by the give everyone reason to funk it up. Earlier in the week I won a Twitter contest put on by Vintage Vinyl for ZZ Ward concert tickets. I had first heard of ZZ at a Vintage Vinyl performance a few years prior. So I decided to check out Leverage Models on our way down to the ZZ Ward show.

After a nice dinner my lady and I arrived on the historic Delmar Ave. right at Sunset. It is a beautiful diverse street filled with concert venues, food, and a amazing array of shops to suit just about everyone. We got in Vintage about 10 minutes late and I made a bee line to the beer table. Once again my friends and, unofficial sponser Schlafly Beer was on hand to provide adult refreshments to the 21 plus crowd. Black Lager tasted outstanding, Thank You very much Schlafly, keep up the great work.

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The first thing anyone noticed about this performance was LOUD. Incredibly LOUD, even for this large size record store, the sound was in your face from the moment you stepped inside. After securing my refreshment I took a spot up front and watched the insane antics of frontman Shannon Fields.

They used a lot of funky futuristic sounds, auto-tune and various other instruments including a maraca and megaphone. They were very amusing to watch, I surely enjoyed it. After 20 minutes and a full sweat soaked shirt Leverage Models thanked the crowd and reminded everyone to check out the new self titled release which just came out last fall. Check the links below.

They put on a amazing show, afterwords we chatted for a few minutes they were very nice talking to. You should go check them out online, or even better when they come to a town near you. Many gracious thanks to everyone making this possible.

Before thier show later that evening at The Old Rock House, The Lonely Wild came to Vintage Vinyl in The Delmar Loop for a intimiate performance. I was lucky enough to of caught the instore put on by Royal Teeth earlier that day so I hung around the famous loop and grabbed a bite to eat. It was a bright, very sunny day in St. Louis the perfect weather for getting out of the house for some new music.

After lunch I made it back to Vintage Vinyl about a half hour before the 4 p.m start time. If you ever get time to check out Vintage give yourself extra browsing time as they have a amazing collection no matter your taste. It is truely a gem, you should see it first hand.

The five piece band ran through a fast soundcheck, grabbed some beers and started up. Schlafly Beer was on hand once again to those of us 21 and up. It is always a nice treat to have a ice cold locally brewed beer.

The Lonely Wild are based in California, they are on tour promoting their newest release ” The Sun As It Comes ” on Thirty Tigers records. It is out now and you can buy it on Itunes here: http://bit.ly/1kf6ZhN

The band played for about 20 minutes and reminded everyone to check them out later that night. I thought they had a great performance had not for having plans I would of loved to attend their full live gig that night.

Before leaving most people got their second Schlafly sample (who could resist?) and stay to chat with the ever friendly members of the band. I am very lucky to have caught this show I feel very blessed.

Thank you Vintage Vinyl, Thank You The Lonely Wild, and Thank you Schlafly for supporting both music and St. Louis in general.

On a beautiful, bright day in the Delmar loop in Saint Louis, MO. Royal Teeth, a five piece band from New Orleans, LA stopped by Vintage Vinyl for a stripped down acoustic performance before their show at the Demo later that evening. They are on the road promoting their latest release ” Glow ” which is on Dangerbird Records and features the single ” Wild “.

It is always a wonderful feeling being at Vintage Vinyl, good times and a great staff that loves music as much as you! As a bonus treat, Schlafly Beer was free to those attending that were 21 and up. Schlafly has been brewing quality beer here in St. Louis since 1991 and they always have supported local music.

The band had been on a 30 plus day tour and was this was the second from last date on the trip. Still they looked, and sounded great as it was the first day out on the road.

They played songs from ” Glow ” as well as a few from their ” Act Naturally e.p “. Mixing in a few new songs and a cover the band played a diverse 30 minute set that lasted well into my second Schlafly.

The most undeniable thing about this group that I loved is they made it look fun. Which translated into everyone else enjoying the music that much more.

Last year they were featured on Last Call with Carson Daly as musical guest. Rumor has it they are booked for another national Tv spot on the 20th of this month on a prime time hit show.

Afterwords the band, the crowd and empolyees of the store all sat around chatting as if old friends. Some of us drank, others did not. Yet, everyone left feeling good and glowing with a smile.

Thank you Royal Teeth, Thank You Vintage Vinyl St. Louis, and Thank You Schlafly Beer.

In 2011 Deftones front man Chino Moreno got together with childhood friend and fellow musician Shaun Lopez, who plays guitar for Far, as well as Chuck Doom to form a new group that Moreno said would “be minimal and soothing…. kinda like the stuff I listen to when I’m not screaming my head off.” From their vision, Crosses was born. Technically its listed like this, †††… but that’s just a pain in the ass to type so we will stick with Crosses. The electro-downtempo rock project features Moreno on vocals, Doom on bass, while Lopez plays guitar, keys, and makes beats and weird noises with a Macbook.

Since their formation Crosses has released 2 EPs as well as many YouTube videos teasing their debut full length album that was originally due out in October… and then November… and now scheduled for release in February via Sumerian Records. To commemorate the occasion, Crosses announced a handful of Midwest tour dates that featured stops in St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago, and Detroit. I had the opportunity to catch the tour opener at Pop’s Nightclub in beautiful Sauget, IL, also known as East St. Louis.

The show started with tour support Dawn Golden, a producer who hails from the magical land of Chicago. I didn’t make it in time to see Dawn Golden, I actually walked in right as Crosses was walking out, but this is the description found on both the Facebook page and Dawn Golden’s official website:“Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross is meant to bring about a melancholy familiarity, like going back to the house where you grew up and finding it the way you left it, only 10 years later and everything is falling apart.”
Whatever that is supposed to mean… I did overhear a group discussing his set and they mentioned that he played “Ava Adore” by The Smashing Pumpkins. So there’s that.

Crosses started their set just about 9:15 P.M. Pop’s Nightclub was crowded and people were packed in by the stage, but it definitely wasn’t sold out. In addition to the main trio, Crosses tours as a five piece with the addition of a drummer and another guitar player. The stage was adorned with a backdrop that featured nothing more than three crosses (†††) as the band came on to eerie music and all red lighting. They didn’t waste much time as they went right into things with “The Holy Ghost”, a track from their first EP. Chino’s haunting vocals mixed well with the melodic yet heavy music. As he lurked around the stage, I couldn’t help but think of the White Pony era Deftones, but with a very ominous tone. Occasionally we would get a signature growl from Chino, but mostly just his actual singing voice. Think of what you would hear on Deftones songs like “Pink Maggot” or “Digital Bath.”

After giving the crowd the “What’s Up St. Louis? You all good?” shout out, they launched into “This is a Trick.” Also from the debut EP this song features more of the Chino we know and love. He has been performing to packed venues for 20+ years and his primal scream still holds up with the best of them. Chino loosened up a bit more and worked the stage as the night when on. When Moreno sang out “I’m so excited I can hardly take it” the crowd joined in and Chino let out another squeal. Moreno then announced that this was pretty much the first time Crosses has played outside of California and it was great to be in St. Louis. (Note: Crosses has played some international shows, but very few U.S. dates). A funky bass heavy number called “Telepathy” was next. I really enjoyed this one and it gave us a chance to meet Chuck Doom who slapped his bass around and showed off a bit. This song reminded me a bit of when Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo did the Head Automatica side project.

They then launched into what appears to be the first single from the soon to be released album, “Bitches Brew”, a fantastic and catchy song with a very creepy music video that came out in November, when the album was scheduled to come out. Moreno asked the crowd “who’s ready to get loose? Its fucking Friday night!” as the band went into “Prurient”, an absolutely beautiful song that almost seemed at times like Moreno was struggling to hold back another signature growl or two. During “Frontiers” the fans down on the rail were greeted with a visit from Chino as he jumped in the photo pit area and up on the railing.

VIDEO CREDIT TO YOUTUBE USER: SbMick

After “1987”, a very trancy song that has lots of guitar and weird sounds in it, courtesy of Shaun Lopez’ Macbook, Moreno introduced “The Epilogue” in his best scary voice. “The Epilogue” was released a few months back to promote the original release date of the album, and is the first Crosses song I was actually familiar with. I really enjoyed it live. Chino then said “I hadn’t’t even noticed there were moterfuckers up top” referring to the balcony. They closed the set out with the guitar heavy “Option”, where Chino again came down to the rail to interact with the fans before a brief exit from the stage. The encore started with “Trophy”, a very mellow song from their second EP that a guy standing next to me referred to as “stoner metal.” Chino thanked the crowd one last time before they finished the incredible set with a song they recorded for a Batman video game called “The Years”, during which Chino spent a good chunk of the song laying out over the crowd screaming into the mic.

For only having a handful of shows under their belt, this band plays together like they’ve been doing it for ten years. This may have been my first show of 2014 but it will certainly leave a lasting impression on me and will most likely be in consideration for one of the years best. My only complaint is that their set was only about an hour long including the encore, but with only a few EPs under their belt there isn’t much more material they could have pulled out. Either way, I paid $10.57 for the ticket and would have happily paid $25. If you get the chance to catch ††† live, I suggest you do. They were recently announced as part of the 2014 Coachella Festival and their debut full length will drop on February 11th. You can pre-order it now right here.

Paid Dues is a independent hip hop festival held annually in Pomona, California. This week some of my favorite artist came out to rock The Gramophone in St. Louis on The Road To Paid Dues tour. Thanks to my good friends Kathy and Curtis, I have known about and been a fan of Prof for years now.

My friends Kathy, Curtis and I all decided to meet up and ride downtown together. That way we would save that gas money for better things, such as drinks and merch. We got to The Gramophone around 9:30, went inside and headed straight to the bar. Which was where I met my new friend Anna. We had both came to the show to see Prof and we ended up hanging out most of the night. A beer later I found my spot just in time for Black Cloud Music who was taking the stage.

Black Cloud Music is a indepedent record label based in Island Empire, California founded in 2006. They were represented by two of the members Noa James ” The Intelligent, Elegant, Elephant ” and Curtiss King who made a reference to himself looking like Sinbad which was funny. They both were dope, had great lyrics and played well off each other. I watched the entire set and was very impressed. Noa commanded everyone’s attention and respect when he rapped acapella and his words boomed off the back brick walls.

They rocked for 30 plus minutes and got the crowd hyped up. It was a nice sized crowd packed into the smaller venue. We headed outside for a minute to cool off between acts. Fashawn was the next man to the stage. As soon as Fashawn touched the mic he got right to work. My friends and I all liked him, and you could hear people around us remarking how dope he was between songs. He rapped about life, California, weed and girls. Fashawn started ” G’s Up ” by asking ” By a show of hands who knows where the good weed is in St. Louis? ”

Fashawn made a lot of fans, my friends and I included. After Fashawn left the stage I held down our spots while everyone went for merch and drinks. Anna came back with beers, and shots. While Curtis and Kathy went and got some merch including a fresh Dj Fundo T-shirt. As soon as Dj Fundo walked out and started scratching records the party was on. Prof has a unmatched energy level on stage and his shows are just crazy start to finish. He opened with ” Gampo ” off his newest official release ” King Gampo ” which had the people that knew him rapping along, while everyone else was bouncing.

Prof has so much fun with his music and it spread like fire through the small venue. One of my favorite songs ” President ” was in the midway through the set and was a highlight of the show for me. During a song break Anna got Prof’s attention and told him she bought him Jameson. He was super excited and said she looked like a mob daugther. She promised him that her mob father wouldn’t put a hit on him, if he hit on her. In exchange for the shots Prof personally thanked her and then serenaded her with some R. Kelly. Then they both slammed down the shots, made for a very memorable part of the show. As always Dj Fundo, kept it fun on the Turntables chiming in with funny stage banter throughout the night.

Everytime Prof comes back around the crowd is bigger, and he has stepped it up. Two of my favorite Prof tracks closed out the set ” On My Way ” which was on the first Prof cd I ever got. He followed that up with my favorite track off King Gampo ” Yeah Buddy ” which got a great crowd response each chorus. This show made me feel great, and it wasn’t even over yet. I looked over and Anna was glowing, her night was made. The look of amazement was spread evenly across the room. Just wait till he comes back through he will have a lot more St. Louis fans and be in a bigger venue.

Coming into this show, my knowledge was extremely limited on the headliner of the evening Murs. The Los Angeles based rapper has been making music since 1995 and has a long track record of appearances, and features. He walked on stage backed by Dj Foundation and won me over immediately, he has a awesome stage presence and his music was dope. The song ” Better Than The Best ” featured some awesome word play and a catchy beat. I also really enjoyed the ” O.J ” song which was about breakups. During one point he slowed down the song to talk to the crowd about relationships before bouncing back into the rest of the song remixed with a outkast beat. He also paid respect to the legend Nate Dogg by doing a brief piano backed cover of ” Regulators “. The crowd sang every word and we all stopped for a second to remember Nate Dogg, R.I.P.

He brought back out Fashawn again, which was cool. Fashawn really impressed me so it was a welcome sight to have him back on stage. Together Murs and Fashawn teamed up for some really great live hiphop. Everyone in my group with the exception of myself had to work the next morning. Which meant for me that we had to leave before Murs finished his set. I wanted to stay, but it was time to roll. We said our goodbyes and hit the door.

The show front to back was solid, the definition of live hip hop at its very best. You owe it to yourself to check this tour out when it rolls through your town. Be sure to check out the links below and show these artist some love. The Gramophone did a great job with this show, the lights, sound and staff were all on top of their game. This easily was one of my favorite shows of the year.

I have always liked Soul Asylum, they remind me of good times in my childhood. I never got to see them during the 90’s and missed them every time since. They had just came out with a new album last year. When I heard they were coming to one of my favorite places in St. Louis, I jumped on the chance to go. The Old Rock House is the perfect place for a band like them, big enough to sell a bunch of tickets. Yet small enough so its a big party, it’s a awesome venue for music. Featuring 3 Levels, 2 Bars, and 2 Bathrooms makes it comfortable to see a show. They have always been extra nice to me, and its always a good time there.

Soul Asylum fronted by founding member Dave Pirner took to the stage a little before 10 p.m while a lot of the crowd was finding the way inside. They started the set with ” Somebody To Shove ” off of the mutli-platinum album ” Grave Dancers Union ” which came out in 1992. It was hard to believe it had been that long, they played a diverse set list and had the crowd feeling the music. I saw so many smiles it was unbelievable. Prior to the show I had bought and listened to the new album and they did a few of my favorite songs from it. The new album is called ” Delayed Reaction ” and it is instores now if you would like to hear it.

Up next they tried a new song on us ” Gravity ” which is from the new album ” Delayed Reaction . They really sound good together on this new stuff and the band plays off each other well. Dave was rocking some thrashed up jeans that looked as if they must of came from the 90’s and drummer Michael Bland was rocking a sick mo-hawk. They all looked really cool, and just as you would expect them to.

Dave’s voice sounded great live, just like you remembered it on the radio. They played the songs ” Pipe Dream ” and ” Into The Light ” which are both new songs. It was cool to hear the difference in the old and new material. I would recommend getting the new album. I am glad I did, made the show more enjoyable to me.

Dave is quite the joker on stage, he has a lot of fun with the crowd. Which should make for a interesting rest of these exhausting tour dates. They followed the new stuff up with some classics ” Black Gold ” was up next and had everyone singing along, dancing and it felt amazing to be part of. Next he said they just came up with a new song on the bus that day, and played ” Runaway Train ” the crowd ate it up. It was so great to be in that room at that moment, so many people just had this euphoric look on their faces. It was priceless, nowhere else I would rather be.

After a few more song they left the stage briefly, they came back up and Dave started talking about how he wrote the next song about our state. The crowd laughed and we knew that ” Misery ” was up next. That song is from the album ” Let Your Dim Light Shine ” which came out in 95. They chose to end the set with another song from that album ” Just Like Anyone ” which closed out the night and sent people paying their bar tabs.

After the show I was feeling incredible. Soul Asylum really made it into a party and played a great show. Everyone left happy, I waited around after the show and talked to Dave. We talked about his ripped up jeans, music, and just a bunch of fun things. He was really easy to talk to and enjoyed being around his fans. He posed for pictures and signed autographs for as many people that wanted one. He went out of his way to be cool to everyone he met. I hope I see them back here soon, I can’t wait to see them again.

Make sure you go check out the new album ” Delayed Reaction ” you will be glad you did. You can find it online, instores or at one of the many, many shows they have booked across America this year. For a list of tour dates you can find Soul Asylum here:

http://www.enterthesoulasylum.com

Go check out the new album ” Delayed Reaction ” You will be glad you did.

Soul Asylum 01/30/13 The Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO.

1. Somebody To Shove
2. I Will Still Be Laughing
3. Can’t Even Tell
4. Lately
5. Whatcha Need
6. Oxygen
7. Leave This Town
8. Gravity
9. Pipe Dream
10. Into The Light
11. The Streets
12. Without A Trace
13. Black Gold
14. Runaway Train
15. Closer To The Stars
16. Made To Be Broken
17. Stand Up And Be Strong
18. Misery
19. Just Like Home.

Till next time.

BeezNutZStl

Thank You to : Wes, The Old Rock House, Dave, Soul Asylum, Airika, Bradley and everyone that came out. Thanks.

Before Vintage Vinyl posted a event called ” ZZ Ward Instore Performance ” on Facebook. I had never heard of this young rising star. I had the night off work because, I was going to see Coheed and Cambria later in the evening. So my girlfriend and I decided to hit the local record store for some free tunes first.

So coming into this show, my knowledge of ZZ was extremely limited. I knew she had a new record out which was being well received, and that she recently appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Other than that, I knew next to nothing.

We got to the wonderful Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, a few minutes early and found a good spot up front. About 20-30 people filled the aisles of cds and waited patiently for the show to start. About 6:05 the band came out from the back and took the small stage. They all looked very cool, and ZZ came out rocking a Notorious B.I.G shirt (Which made her even cooler!). She looked very excited to say the least!

ZZ is originally from Oregon, but is now based out of L.A . She played songs from her new album ” Till The Casket Drops ” which came out in October. One of my favorites was the title track ” Till The Casket Drops ” which is a great song about loving someone till the end. In this case, till the casket drops. She rocked this song, her voice was incredibly powerful and capturing.

There was a very diverse crowd in attendance all types of people, young and old filled the area around the stage. My girlfriend really enjoyed her lead single ” Put The Gun Down “. ZZ is a very good performer and she steals the show. Her lyrics are very catchy, her band was on point, and that made her show all the better.

ZZ really connects with the crowd, her band really compliments her well and they sound great together. Last time they were in town they opened for Blues legend Buddy Guy. If only I had known about them then, I would of went to that show.

Before playing the song ” Charlie Ain’t Home ” ZZ credited legendary Etta James for inspiring her to write the song. It was another highlight of her 25 minute, 5 song set-list. I enjoyed hearing the story and inspiration behind the song.

Before leaving she made sure to introduce her band and play a song about hooking up with a nerd called ” Move It Like You Stole It ” which was another great song. Everyone was in a good mood by the time they left the stage.

After the show, ZZ hung out to sign autographs and meet with fans. When it was our turn she was really nice to us, down to earth, and cool. Then Papa Ray from Vintage Vinyl came over and gave her a rare Etta James Cd that made her smile ear to ear. She was great to talk with and I am very happy I came out to see this show. They played a show here the day after at The Firebird which I was unable to attend sadly. However, next time I will be there, she blew me away. Go check her out if she comes to your town, you won’t regret it.

I must admit, I feel bad for sleeping on Blueprint for as long as I did. With some many choices in music these days, its easy for great artist be over looked. A few years back I saw a show he did with Atmosphere and he stole the show for me. He has so much depth, passion and great lyrics in his music. His beats are alive with his pulse, because he puts heart and soul into his music.

The holidays are fast approaching, which meant I could not afford to ask off work anymore. I decided if fate gave me a night off, I would go to this show. Well it didn’t give me a night off, but I did manage to get off work sooner than expected. So I made a late dash to The Firebird in St. Louis, MO to catch a great hip hop show.

As I was pulling up to the brick building that houses The Firebird. It was easy to hear deep bass vibrating the walls. I was somewhat worried I had show up too late. It was difficult to tell through the thick walls if this was Blueprint on stage, or not. I was a bit late as it was 10:15 when I showed up. Just my luck however, I had made it in perfect time. One of my local favorites Mathias and The Pirates were on stage and I got to catch the last few songs.

They were great to watch and were a good way to start my evening. Mathias has been rapping in St. Louis for a very long time, he was part of the award winning hip hop group The Earthworms. Lately he has been on a lot of shows doing his solo projects which are equally as dope.

Up next from New York was Mad Dukez. He has a new video for a very entertaining song called ” Animal “. Mad Dukez is from Buffalo, NY and represents DTR45 records. He was very bouncy, and hype on stage.

I really enjoyed his set closing song ” Stupid Hard “. I thought his show was dope, and I can’t wait till he comes back to the Midwest. I enjoyed the downtime between sets and caught up with old friends in the crowd.

That brought up the main act of the evening Blueprint and DJ Rare Groove. He took about 5 minutes to hook up effect pedals, and a keyboard and beat machine. Then he told the crowd ” I am gonna work hard to make you guys feel good about coming out on a Thursday night, Thank you “. He would not disappoint the small, but fun crowd in attendance.

Coming out of Columbus, OH and representing Rhymesayers Ent. Blueprint got right to work, he spits his lyrics in a raw, easy to understand tone. His subjects are real, they can be a story, they can just be fun, but he has a unmistakable confindance when he raps that draws people in. For the next hour the stage was Blueprint’s. Early in the set, he played one of my favorites ” The Clouds “. The song is very personal and very unconventional because it has no hook or chorus.

He dropped great track, after great track, spanning all of his albums. Since 2003 Blueprint has released album after album. Also he has appeared on various hip hop projects. Neeless to say Blueprint carries quite the body of work with him when he tours. During some songs Blueprint picked up his keyboard and used it like a guitar. DJ Rare Groove made sure everything was fresh, and added dope cuts throughout the night.

He rocked some of my favorite songs this tour, like the one about selling weed. The song is called ” Neighborhood Weed Man ” he started the song off by talking about how many songs are about smoking weed while hardly any are wrote about selling weed. The song features what sounds like Method Man saying ” Roll that shit, light that shit, smoke it ” and it is easily a great baking jam.

He also played the timeless classic ” Big Girls Need Love Too ” which before he started joked that is the number one song in South America. ” I can’t walk the streets of Hondurus because of this song “. It is a great song, filled with great lines. Just listen.

Blueprint got off stage and headed to the merch booth, where he sold T-shirts and copies of his new cd ” The Deleted Scenes ” which is a b-side record of all the cuts that didn’t make the ” Adventures in Counter Culture ” release. What is remarkable about Blueprint is that he has a amazing memory. Right way he remembered me, and he started a conversation about the last show I was at of his. I made sure to buy the new cd, and thanked him from coming back to St. Louis. He thanked me.

That doesn’t happen a lot anymore, he cares about his fans and it shows. This was a great hip hop show, Blueprint brings it everytime. If he stops in your hood, hand over that 10 dollars and go see this show. You wont regret it.

Thanks to : Blueprint, DJ Rare Groove, Mad Dukez, Mathias and The Pirates, The Firebird and everyone who was there.

I can remember back to the 08′ warped tour, and how 3oh!3 was on that tour. They had a new CD that was supposed to drop on that tour, it had leaked before the release date. Instead of bitching, 3oh!3 burnt copies of the new CD on CDR signed them and sold them for 5 bucks. My friend Steve has one of these, he was the one to introduce me to the band that day. The performances I saw in 08′ were great and I was instantly a fan.

I had not heard much from them since the release of the latest album ” Streets Of Gold “. Although they toured extensively for the album they did not include St. Louis on the dates. Then one day out of the blue, my friend Chris called to tell me 3oh!3 would be playing a free show for the Rock And Roll Marathon series. They would be playing the finish line party and I was pretty excited.

The morning of the show, my girlfriend and I set out with just enough time to make the 11 a.m show. Between highway construction, and road closures for the marathon we cut it extremely close. I parked as close as I could and we had to walk the 10 city blocks to the park. A steady stream of runners and joggers filed passed the line seemed to be never ending. We picked up the pace and set out on our own marathon.

We finally found the mainstage as 3oh!3 was playing ” Starstruck ” from the first album ” Want “. We quickly made our way to the front of the stage, just in time for the beach balls. As we got to our spots about 10-20 huge beach balls were thrown into the crowd and made for a fun party like atmosphere.

The crowd enjoyed them, as well as the band. In between songs they joked they were opening the show for ” The Beach Balls “. Made for a humorous part of the show. They played ” My First Kiss ” off of there 2nd cd ” Streets Of Gold ” next.

They kept the energy high and the morning crowd ate it up, the only bad thing about this set was it was censored. There were a lot of young kids in the crowd and it was a family event so they didn’t cuss during the hour long set. It was very obvious on one of my favorite tracks ” Richman ” that they were playing a clean set.

When any band says they are gonna play a new song, that instantly means I hit record on the camera. They broke out a new song for this show, and it went over great. After the song was over they invited a fan on stage to dance it out with them. One word : Amazing. Just watch this starting at 3:50.

Then it was time for the beach balls second coming, and it turned out to be a funny moment. The crowd would hit the balls on stage and Nat, and Sean would kick, punch or throw them back to the crowd. I was trying to get a good shot of them hitting the balls back, so I told my girlfriend Danielle to hit one to Sean so I could get the shot. Well she did and bounced one right off his chest, he wasn’t looking and got GOT! Made me laugh and was a highlight of the show for me.

Before starting the last song ” Don’t Trust Me ” Sean asked the crowd to ” Please, don’t hit me”. Which made me turn to my girlfriend and laugh.

They rocked the last song with a lot of help from the crowd. After the performance they jumped down to the barricade to sign autographs and take photos with fans.

It was a great show, and was a lot of fun. The Rock and Roll Marathon seemed very well organized, and well planned. I can’t wait for next years. Go check out 3oh!3 next time they come around, they still are a lot of fun.

Everyone’s favorite bluegrass band that features a gas tank bass invaded the Old Rock House stage in St. Louis once again for yet another stellar show. Split Lip Rayfield, the 3 piece touring machine from Kansas, brought their blend of punk and metal inspired bluegrass music back to the Old Rock House stage. The last time they stopped in was last fall with the Legendary Shack Shakers and Mountain Sprout, one of my favorite shows of 2011, also at the Old Rock House. Jeff Eaton, the man behind the gas tank bass pictured above, known as the Stitchgiver, is actually from a little town called Gumbo, Missouri which is just a few hours from St. Louis. There is always a welcoming crowd for the Split Lip boys when they come through the Gateway to the West and this was no exception, and we even got to witness a small bluegrass mosh pit at one point!

They started the night off with “Flat Black Rag” and then mandolin/guitarist Wayne Gottstine took things over for “All The Same”. It was then onto Jeff Eaton’s first featured song, “Love Please Come Home”” before Wayne took the mic back for “Moving to Virgina” and “The River.”

Wayne switched from mandolin to guitar for “Never Make It Home” while Jeff armed himself with his trusty kazoo for a rocking solo . During “Kiss of Death” we even had the aforementioned mosh pit break out right in front of the stage featuring two booze infused fans going at it while Eaton slapped away at the Stitchgiver. Banjo picker Eric Martis then introduced Jeff to the crowd as Nikki Syxx, to which the crowd cheered… one fan booed loudly, and Martis replied “only one guy had the right response!” (Good job Ben!) At this point the crowd was growing restless as Eaton took over again for the always depressing “Pinball Machine”, one of my personal favorites.

Each Split Lip show features a toast to their fallen friend, and former guitarist, Kirk Rundstrom and tonight was no different. After “How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?”, another great tune during which Jeff Eaton is damn near incoherently growling about eating biscuits in the morning we were asked to raise a glass to Kirk, and then it was “I’ll Be Around”, the title track to their most recent album and only released after the passing of Rundstrom. The last song of the night was “Redneck Tailgate Dream” before they stepped off the stage to catch their breath.

After about a minute off the stage, the guys came back out and said they had one more for us… and then went right into the face melting “High Price of Necromancy” and then the fan favorite and sing a long, “Used to Call Me Baby.” They finished out their one song encore with “Dont Believe That You’re Someone” and finally “Outlaw.” One song left huh? What a bunch of liars!

Overall, it was another great evening out with Split Lip Rayfield and I look forward to seeing them again next week at Wakarusa as well as at the end of June when they hit the BloomHeavy River Romp Festival in Grassy, MO (just 2 hours south of St. Louis)

Just a few days before this show I had no idea who Polica was. Thanks to boredom and a quick youtube search I decided I would go check it out. This interesting new 4 piece band made up of two drummers, bass and a singer are from Minneapolis, MN. Recently they have released a new debut album titled ” Give You The Ghost ” and have been on tour promoting that release.

The day of the show I ended up cooking dinner, running errands and falling behind on my plans of seeing a show. I got back on track and ended up at The Old Rock House in downtown St. Louis ready for a good time.

After a $10 cover, I was in. The crowd wasn’t huge but people kept showing up as the evening progressed. I had missed the openers, and showed up just in time. Around 9:30 Polica’s singer Channy Leaneagh came out, brought a bass to the stage and dropped off the set list and then disappeared.

A few minutes later she reemerged followed by bass player Chris and drummers Ben and Drew. That was one of the things I found exciting about this band was Channy’s soulful, smooth vocals over funky bass lines, and crazy beats provided by dual drummers. I had not seen a band like this before and decided to check it out and I am glad I did.

They thanked the crowd for coming out and opened their set with ” The Maker ” which is the 6th track off the new album ” Give You The Ghost “.

They sounded great as a group, and as the music grew louder the crowd grew in closer securing better spots close to the stage.

Choosing to go with the last track from the new album next, ” Leading To Death ” was something that you just need to see live. It is very cool to see both drummers feeding off each others beat while the vocals take you away on a musical journey.

They followed with the songs ” Darkstar “,” Fist On The Floor ” and ” Raw Exit ” keeping the set moving. Then came ” Lay Your Cards Out ” which is one of the singles from the new album was a highlight of the show for me. It was one of the videos I watched before coming out and it really shined bright live.

Moving into the songs “ Violent Game “, ” Smug ” and ” Happy Be Fine ” which were all great but not as good as ” Form ” which was another highlight of the night for me. They put a lot of effort in putting on a great show for the crowd. In return the crowd seemed very into the performance as well, yelling loudly and cheering between each song.

One of the other videos I had watched online prior to this show was ” Wandering Star “.I think Channy’s voice was really great on this song, and sounded amazing live. She truly has a remarkable voice and certain songs like this really showcases her talent.

After playing a crowd request that I didn’t get the title of? They chose ” Amongster ” which is the first track on ” Give You The Ghost ” to end out and close their great set for the night.

The show was remarkable and with the bands plans for a busy summer makes this a band to watch in 2012! Don’t forget you heard about them on Concert Confessions don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I have to start this post by saying this night leading up to the show sucked more than anyone could ever imagine. I tried to do something nice for someone that means a lot to me and it just got thrown back in my face ten fold. It was incredible how shitty I felt. That being said I had different plans for this night.

I love seeing Lil Wyte and he always shows the crowd a good time. However it just wasn’t my orginal plan for the night. I was already downtown and had a few friends at the show. Being the great friends they are after hearing about my horrific night they said make it to the club and we got your back.

15 minutes and a few blown traffic lights later I arrived at the Fubar in St. Louis. At this point I was the kind of stressed to where I was looking for my phone while talking on it. It was just a unbelievable night. I always try and make the best out of bad situations.

My friend got my back at the door and I was in. There was an armed St. Louis cop at the door by the doorman, another one in the sound booth, and one in the crowd for a total of 3 police in this show. There had been some fights at previous shows and security was beefed up for this one.

The opening acts were somewhat okay, and some of them were downright HORRIBLE. A lot of them lacked substance and most of the songs were all about ” money, money, money ” without any depth or story at all.

This lasted for hours, atleast 7 different acts took the stage during the wait for Lil Wyte. I did find P.R.E.A.C.H to be my favorite of the bunch. He has that star quality it takes to command a crowd and he had the crowd packed in to watch his set. My friends all went up to watch him and I enjoyed his time. I look forward to seeing him perform again soon.

(photo credit: Caitlin T.)

An hour and a few acts later it was time for Lil Wyte to take the stage. He came out to the song he likes to open with ” My Smoking Song ” and got the crowd all hyped up in part thanks to his new hype man Miscellaneous.

He followed up with such sure hits as ” I Sho Will ” which got the kind of crowd response Wyte has came to expect from his fans in STL.

Running through more and more of the classics from his 5 albums dating back to 2003. A little over 25 minutes after taking the stage and a few minutes past midnight the DJ dropped the beat for the normal set closing song ” Oxycotin ” I was sure he was just gonna do a half an hour and leave.

I was prepared to leave a bit disappointed and go on with the night that had already sucked. Much to the delight of the crowd and myself he decided to stick around and rock some more.

After telling the crowd about his new album ” Still Doubted ” a title referencing his debut album ” Doubt Me Now ” would drop on 06/06/12. He decided to preview a few tracks for the fans in attendance.

First up was the Lex Luger produced track ” Money ” which is slated to drop as a single for the new album featuring Project Pat. Pat wasn’t in the building to drop his verse live but Wyte still rocked it.

Mr. Luger has been a busy man during the last two years producing a few chart topping hits for Jay-Z, Kayne and Rick Ross among others. Lil Wyte has been busy in the studio and decided to drop yet another track to keep the crowd excited for the upcoming release.

It was safe to say the crowd was excited to hear the new shit being debuted live and in person. He had the crowd eating out of his hand and really put a great show.

Deciding to end the show on a high note Wyte and company decided to invite some of the ladies of St. Louis on stage to dance to new single off ” Still Doubted ” called ” Sike ”

The song was about quitting smoking, drinking and popping pills, but SIKE wyte is getting fucked up tonight. It was my favorite of the new tracks and was a fitting end to a great show.

Lil Wyte puts on a great show and mixes up the setlist enough to make things interesting. He should be on the road a lot in 2012 promoting ” Still Doubted “. Go check him out on facebook, get that new album in June and go see a show.

Thanks for turning a otherwise shitty night into a good time Lil Wyte.

I have to start this by saying thank you Firebird for hosting so many great shows in the past few years. If you wanna watch people become stars, this is a great place to do that.

With all genres of music at The Firebird each day, I often check their website for new listings. While searching last week, I noticed a fimilar name : Hopsin was coming to rock. Oddly enough it was a early show that was scheduled to start at 5 p.m and was slated to end at 7:30. Fair enough, one problem. I had to work until 10 p.m.

After picking up day shift, and having someone cover me until 8:30 at the gig. I was set and ready to rock. On my way down to the city, I stopped by the Delmar Loop Ice Festival and walked down the strip. Lots of inspiring Ice Sculptures and people lined the street.

It was a good time, yet a bit cold, but hey its a ice festival after all. After packing up and finishing my voyage to downtown I was suprised to see a 10+ line outside The Firebird as I arrived.

My friends Curt and Kathy were also on the way down and brought 3 more people with them, then a car pulled up and at least 5-7 hopped out of it.I was glad to see a good turn out so early in the day for a underground artist such as Hopsin.

We rolled inside just as a local artist was finishing up his energetic set that had the crowd lining the front of the stage. We headed over to the merch table and said whats up to rapper, producer SwizZz. He was a cool guy and we finally met DJ Hoppa who also was very nice, and friendly.

Up next was a guy from Flint, MI named Jon Connor. I can’t help but think about the Terminator movies hearing that name. He was cool and put on a great show for the crowd that came to rock early on a Saturday night.

He was a cool act, and had a lot of good lines and solid production often featuring cool samples of other songs that came out awesome and very soulful. His passion was very contagious and he had the hands up and rocking.

He did a 20-30 minute set that the crowd, and myself enjoyed. It was very solid, very honest and a refreshing hip hop show to say the least. I would like to see him back in St. Louis soon.

After Jon Connor’s set DJ Hoppa, got on stage and started up the tables and the crowd inched closer as the wait grew less and less. Finally it was time, and Hopsin, SwizZz and DJ Hoppa took The Firebird stage. Going crazy is a bit of an understatement.

Hopsin came on with ” Pans in the Kitchen ” and had the crowd eating it up. He and SwizZz took turns rocking each side of the stage. I found my way to a good spot up front and was blown away by how big his following was. These days the internet can make you a star and Hopsin takes full advantage of that.

SwizZz would back up Hopsin, and even performed some of his songs. Such as “Scream” that the crowd enjoyed, and rocked with him.

My knowledge of Hopsin is somewhat limited, I know he was signed to Ruthless Records, got shelved, got pissed, left and made it on his own. I admire the work ethic behind all of that. And hard work pays off, the crowd was feeling every song that came blasting out of the speakers.

In between songs I would check the clock, as it read 7:34 I knew the show was coming to a close, but the crowd was obviously not ready to go anywhere, and neither was Hopsin. He told the crowd,” my time is up, but im not leaving until I sag my pants in this bitch ”

As the beat for “Sag My Pants ” dropped the crowd went crazy singing each lyric louder than the one before it. ” Sag My Pants ” is a diss song directed towards the rap world of today. With lines attacking : Drake, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Soulja Boy, Eazy E’s wife among other people. However my favorite line is ” Y’all faker than Lupe Fiasco claiming he skateboards “.

After the show, we met and talked with each of the artist. They were very down to earth, real people. Myself and Hopsin talked a bit about skateboarding among other things, I got to joke with Jon Connor a bit. I had to be at work in 45 minutes so it was time to go.

One problem, my car wouldnt start, after a jump start I was back on the road and 10 minutes late getting back to work. All was well though and was well worth seeing a great show such as this.

Hopsin, SwizZz, DJ Hoppa and Jon Connor are in Chicago TONIGHT 1/15

You can keep up with them on Facebook, Twitter and www.myfunkvolume.com

At www.myfunkvolume.com there is a $1000 contest going on now, go check them out.

Today I woke up, ate a quick bite and headed down to the Historic Delmar Loop. The Delmar Loop is a great street of shops, restaurants, books and record shops. It’s also boast the St. Louis Walk Of Fame and various other gems that makes my city great.

Well today they added another attraction to the already impressive list. They added a statue honoring the great Rock and Roll icon Chuck Berry. Now and forever sitting across the street from Blueberry Hill is Chuck Berry.

I arrived just in time to catch all the festivities. They had Delmar shut down, and a stage and podium set up next to the statue. A band called ” Blues Plus ” was cranking out Chuck Berry songs tune after tune and had the crowd rocking.

The ceremony started with the choir from Galilee Missionary Baptist Church proceeding through the crowd, followed by The Coca and Show Me Sound drumline band.

Through the thick of it all I could see the signature Sailor hat worn by Mr. Chuck Berry in the backround.

As he approaced he was very gracious and kind to all in attendance by shaking hands and smiling. At his side was “The Unofficial Mayor of The Loop ” Joe Edwards. The Chuck Berry statue is one of the many, many things Joe has done for Delmar and our City and I always appreciate all that he has done.

The Mc of the day was Kmox radio’s Charlie Brennan who has that classic radio voice and kept the program moving in the right direction.

First to speak was Mayor Arthur Sharpe Jr. who spoke about the importance of “Do It Now”. Asking the crowd that if they have a chance to make something good happen or do something good to ” Do It Now”

Next to the podium was renowned sculptor Harry Weber who has pieces all over the country. Notably at Busch Stadium, Cooperstown and the St. Louis Riverfront to name just a couple.

He also had a enjoyable speech with a couple of funny jokes mixed in to humor the crowd. At one point thanked his support team who hasn’t let a piece fall yet.

Then it was Joe Edwards turn at the podium and he thanked everyone for their support through the project and gave a really nice speech.

Which left one man to take the podium Chuck Berry himself. He walked up looking very humbled and a bit emotional to be there. He kept it short and thanked everyone for being there, and told us he loved us all.

If the response was any sort of a hint. It was obvious that we love Chuck right back.

After walking back through the crowd of cheering fans, Joe Edwards, Chuck and family disappeared into the Famous Blueberry Hill that Chuck still performs in once a month.

Then I went to work, where on our store radio they were playing none other than Chuck Berry. Thanks for everything Chuck, your statue is a blessing to our city!